自由锻的基本工序主要有镦粗、拔长、冲孔、切割、弯曲、扭转、错移及锻接等。模锻又分为开式模锻和闭式模锻．金属坯料在具有一定形状的锻模膛内受压变形而获得锻件，模锻一般用于生产重量不大、批量较大的零件。

The basic process of free forging are upsetting, stretching, punching, cutting, bending, torsion, displacement and welding etc.. Die forging is also divided into open die forging and closed die forging. Metal billets are pressed and deformed to form forgings in the forging die chamber with a certain shape, and die forging is generally used for producing parts with small weight and large batches.

机器锻造是自由锻造的主要方法，可锻造质量达到几百吨的大型锻件，这使得自由锻在重型机械制造中具有特别重要的作用。锻造设备包括成形用的锻锤、机械压力机、液压机、螺旋压力机和平锻机，以及锻造操作机、开卷机、矫正机、剪切机、等辅助设备。例如，水轮机主轴、多拐曲轴、大型连杆、重要的齿轮零件，在工作时都承受很大的载荷，常采用自由锻造方法生产毛坯，使其具有很高的力学性能.满足使用要求。

Machine forging is the main method of free forging. It can forge large forgings with a quality of hundreds of t, which makes free forging play a very role in heavy machinery manufacturing. For example, the main shaft of a hydraulic turbine, a multi crank crankshaft, a large connecting rod, and important gear parts are subjected to heavy loads when they are working. Free forging is often used to produce blanks, so that they have high mechanical properties.

二十世纪60年代以后，锻造机械改变了从19世纪开始的，向重型和大型方向发展的趋势，转而向高速、、自动、精密、***、多品种生产等方向发展。

After 60s twentieth Century, forging machinery changed the trend from nineteenth Century to heavy and large direction, and turned to high speed, high efficiency, automatic, precision, special, multi variety production.